Darkness of the Soul
by Kamui Asagi
Summary: *CHAPTER -8- IS FINALLY UP* Jean has survived the horrors of Silent Hill. How and why she is still alive are just some of the questions she asks herself. Dr. Ashcroft manages to convince Jean to tell her about the events that took place there. This is Jea
1. Insanity

Cold, the window was cold… like death. Jean was pressing her hand against the window for a good half-hour now, just staring out at the rain and the mist. She hated every second of it, but something compelled her to keep looking, as if waiting for some shred of light and hope to pierce the cold haze. Why was she still alive? Was there some purpose she didn't understand? Her hand began to burn from the cold window, and she removed it and tore her eyes from the outside. The room was white and sterile, the lights were blinding and she had to squint her brown eyes against them. She returned to her bed in the corner of the room and sat huddled against the wall.

"Why? Why is this happening?" She thought with tears running down her pale cheeks.

A slit in the door opened and a pair of eyes stared at her. "Are you ready to talk Jean?" The voice asked in a low tone.

She just stared at the set of blue eyes while rubbing the tears from her face. She didn't want to talk about it. They already thought she was crazy, telling her story would just seal the deal. She turned her head toward the wall and let her chin length black hair and hide her face from the view of the doctor. She heard the lock click and the door scrape the floor as it opened. The doctor walked into the room examining a clipboard and adjusting her glasses that were placed on her nose. Jean turned her head slightly and looked at her. She was fairly tall, about 5'10" and her brown hair was shoulder length. But the thing that intrigued Jean the most was the way she smiled at her when she noticed she was staring at her. Jean quickly turned her gaze back toward the wall.

"It's alright Jean, I want you to look at me and to talk to me." The Doctor said.

"I don't want to talk…" Jean whispered biting her lip.

The doctor paused a moment and then looked back down at her clipboard.

"So, I see you're 16, good health… oh! You're from Silent Hill Jean? Nice little town."

Jean turned her head and just stared at the doctor. The doctor took a small step back when she saw the evil glare she was being shot.

"WAS…a nice town…" Jean said coldly, "and it is just a nightmare now."

"What do you mean?" The doctor asked.

"Listen doctor…" Jean looked at her ID tag, "Ashcroft… I don't know what you've heard but it's not there anymore."

"What are you talking about? It's still there…" Dr. Ashcroft paused, "We think."

Jean stared at her in disbelief. It was still there? The nightmare wasn't over then. But, why did she "think" it was still there.

"What did you mean by you _'think'_ it's still there?"

"Well…the town is still covered by a blanket of thick fog. And the police from surrounding towns are afraid to enter it," Dr. Ashcroft said removing her glasses, "The reason being that the other police that entered it before hand still haven't come back yet."

Jean closed her eyes and the memories of that town came flooding back all at once. Images of marred walls, pools of blood, corpses, the screams…and the demons. Jean held her head and screamed.

"Jean!? Are you alright? Say something Jean!" Dr. Ashcroft pleaded.

"THEIR DEAD! THEIR ALL DEAD!" Jean shouted back, tears falling to the bed.

"What do you mean by that? How can they be dead?"

Jean faced the wall again and sobbed loudly. How could she explain what had happened to her? She knew what most likely happened. It was one of two things… if not, both. If they had entered the town, they were either killed by the demons. Or, if they passed them and managed to live longer than a couple of hours or even a day or two… then it would have found them. Skinned them alive and drained their blood. Then cast their corpse onto the ground or hang it on a fence, and let it rot or let the demons dismember it and consume it.

"I just know…" Jean whispered.

"How do you know?" Dr. Ashcroft asked sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Because… I saw everything that happened." Jean said turning to Ashcroft with red eyes.

"Tell me please."

"You just think I'm more crazy than I already am. There's no point in telling you anything."

"At this point, I might believe anything. Considering we don't know what the hell is going on in that place." Ashcroft said rubbing her nose with her thumb and index finger.

Jean snickered at her comment. Hell. Yeah, that's what was happening in that town. Everyone always uses the phrase "hell on earth", well, hell is here. And it looks like it's not going to leave.

"Fine… I'll tell you. I'll tell you every horrible minute of what I experienced, every sensation and emotion I felt, and every single site I saw." Jean said hanging her feet off the edge of the bed.

"Fair enough." Ashcroft said putting her clipboard down.


	2. Return to Silent Hill

Jean stared blankly at the window for a moment, trying to think of a place to start. She slid off the bed and walked over toward the window and placed her hand on it once again.

"Jean?" Dr. Ashcroft asked turning her head slightly.

Jean let out a sigh and removed her hand from the window. 

"I guess you can say… it started about a week before everything went to hell."

The mist was so calm, soothing almost. But it hid a dark secret in it; Jean knew it. She just needed to unlock it with her memories.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Jean! You're going to be late again!"

"Huh?" Jean opened her right eye and stared at her clock, "Crap!"

It was almost eight thirty, and it took her almost ten minutes to run to school. She knew she would really get it if she was late again. 

"What's clean? C'mon… there has to be something!" Jean said rummaging through her closet.

She finally found a pair of black jeans, and a plain black polyester shirt. She jumped onto her bed and picked up her black boots and quickly laced them up.

"Jean! Hurry up!"

"Coming mom!" Jean shouted, "Books, need my books."

She scanned her room quickly, some old magazines, dirty laundry, art stuff, dirty laundry, snack bags, dirty laundry, soda cans. 

"Hmm…" Jean thought for a moment, "Looks like laundry time again. No time for that now though."

She dove headfirst into the biggest pile of laundry and started flinging clothes this way and that looking for any sign of her book bag and books.

"It's on the table downstairs Jean."

"Huh?" Jean pulled herself up with a pair of underwear resting on her shoulder. 

"I said your bag is on the downstairs table." Drake was leaning up against Jeans' doorframe with his toothbrush in his mouth.

"Oh, thanks little guy." Jean said rushing past him and rubbing his head.

"I'm only three years younger than you! I'm not little!" Drake growled angrily fixing his hair.

"Yeah, yeah." Jean slid down the banister and grabbed her coat off the coat rack.

"Breakfast is on the table Jean."

"Only time for juice and toast mom." Jean said shoving a buttered toast piece into her mouth. She had perfected the skill of eating in less than one minute.

"Figured that much," Jeans' mom sighed, "You can't do this anymore Jean."

"So you've said," Jean swallowed a glass full of orange juice and put the glass back on the table, "Well, got to go. Love you mom."

"Love you too dear."

Jean put on her coat and grabbed her backpack off the table. She reached the door and flung it open. There was a thick layer of fog outside and it was pouring out.

"Funny, I don't recall rain being in the forecast today." 

Jean rushed down the street at full speed trying not to get soaked. At least Silent Hill was laid out in a grid pattern, it made things easier on people. She rushed down road after road and passed the middle school. Jean looked at her watch.

"Damn! I hope I make it!"

The school came into sight, she just had to cross the bridge. Suddenly a fierce wind picked up and blew Jean into one of the rails.

"Ow… what the heck?" Jean looked around rubbing her hip, "Why is it so cold now?"

Jean pulled her coat tighter and look at the water below. It was a muddy color now because of all the run off and the rain. She just stared at the water for a moment then she heard a bell go off.

"Damn!" Jean bolted across the rest of the bridge.

She reached the doors and opened them. Her locker was just down the hall, she could make it to first period without being too late. She ran down the hall and saw the science room. She could see Mr. Dawson writing something on the board.

"Uh-oh…" Jean thought to herself, "He started early today."

She went to turn the corner but lost her footing because of her wet boots, and apparently they had waxed the floors last night. Jean slid across the floor and smacked into a row of lockers.

"OH DAMN!" Jean shouted rubbing her shoulder, "This is not my day."

She now hobbled to her locker and threw in her bag and coat once she got the lock open. She searched for her science book and a pen and finally located them. She came into the science room and plopped down next to her friend Eve.

"What did I miss?" Jean asked brushing her wet hair out of her face.

"Not much, just some notes." Eve said biting on her pen cap, "I see you need to do laundry again."

"How did you know?" Jean asked copying down the notes from Eves' notebook.

"You always wear those clothes when you have nothing else clean." Eve smiled, her green eyes sparkled slightly in the light.

"Ah, Jean. So nice of you to join us."

"Huh?" Jean turned away from Eve and looked at Mr. Dawson who was leaning against the board.

"Get caught in the rain today?" He asked staring at Jeans' drenched black hair.

"Oh, yeah. I guess you could say that." Jean said blushing a little bit.

She thought Mr. Dawson was kind of cute, he was twenty-three and was studying to be a biologist in college. She always liked this class, even though she was always late for it. 

"Just leave earlier next time please Jean." He said brushing his brown hair out his face.

"I'll try my best sir." Jean said giving him a smile.

"Oh… and try not to swear next time you slide into a set of lockers." Dawson said turning back too the board.

Jean turned almost cherry red, She didn't know she said it _that_ loud.

"I should give you a detention but I'm busy this week so you lucked out"

Jean turned back to Eve who was blowing her blonde hair out of her eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Jean?" Dr. Ashcroft asked, "I hate to interrupt, but, what does this have to do with what happened?"

"I'm getting to that." Jean said returning to her bed, "But didn't it seem weird to you I didn't get a detention from him when I was late?"

"Well, you told me that he said he was busy that week." Ashcroft said.

"Just keep that in mind Doctor," Jean said, "Anyway, it rained until Thursday night and the rest of the week was pretty normal until Friday."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What is this!?" Jean shouted looking out the kitchen window.

"I have no clue dear, just some kind of freak weather pattern." Jeans' mom said reading the newspaper.

It was snowing out, a lot actually. Not really a blizzard or anything, it was more like a rapid flurry. 

"Is school cancelled?" Jean asked hopefully.

"Nope, all open to my knowledge."

"Aww…" Jean groaned and sank back into her chair at the breakfast table.

"Say, why are you up early today?" Drake asked poking at his eggs.

"Because, I don't want a detention."

"At least your not running around like a chicken with your head cut off today." Drake said picking up some of the eggs with his fork and watched them run through the prongs.

"Speaking of chickens…" Jean turned toward her mom, "What is up with these eggs mom?"

"Sorry, the store ran out of fresh eggs. They only had the powdered ones."

"Eww… you mean like those ones at the hospital?" Drake said moving onto his cereal.

"We don't serve bad food, we're not an airline Drake. Now stop complaining and eat."

Drake forced himself to eat the eggs once he finished his cereal but quickly drank his orange juice after the eggs.

"I better get going now." Jean said finishing off her milk and putting on her coat.

"Doesn't it feel good not to rush Jean?"

"Yes mom, but it would be even better if you drove me to school."

"Jean, you know I would if I didn't work at the hospital."

"Yeah, I know… Lisa." Jean said sarcastically.

"Don't get an attitude with me missy."

"What are you going to do? Give me an enema?" Jean gave her mom a smile.

"Just get out of here," She smiled back and tossed a piece of toast at Jeans' head, "Before I do decide to give you one."

"Alright, I'm going. Thanks for air delivery." Jean stepped out into the snow and fog and started her way toward the school.

About half way Eve caught up with her. The snow was clinging to her blonde hair and made it shimmer in the dim light of the morning. 

"Hey Jean."

"Hey Eve, have you heard anything about the weather?"

"Umm… only that this is a large slow moving front." Eve said sticking out her tongue to catch some snowflakes.

"Hmm…" Jean stared at the ground for a moment and shivered.

"You okay Jean?" Eve asked, "You cold?"

"No, I'm fine it's just…" Jean bit her bottom lip.

"Oh, I know what it is." Eve said with a small grin.

"You do?" Jean looked at Eve oddly for a second.

"Yeah, you're having your…" Jean slapped her hand over Eves' mouth before she could finish.

"NO! It's not that…"

"Then what is it?"

"I just had a feeling, like a nightmare is coming into reality." Jean bit her index finger.

"Oh…" Eve whispered.

The school was dead, hardly any noise. There was nobody in sight, not even the janitor. The floor was mopped and waxed, the walls were clean; yet, a disgusting silence hung in the air.

"W-What's going on here?" Jean said with a small quiver in her voice.

"I don't know," Eve said looking around, "Was there a last minute delay or something? I don't see anyone here."

Jean approached the science room door and clasped the doorknob. It was cold, cold like death. The same icy grip seemed to take hold of her chest as she turned the knob. Jean and Eve walked into the room, the lights were off. Eve felt along the wall and flicked the switch up. They both let out a blood curdling screams, Eve fell to the floor crying and Jean wretched and vomited.

"What the hell is this!?" Eve sobbed out, "This is sick!"

Jean coughed and wiped her mouth, "I don't know…what the hell happened to everybody?"

Eve pushed herself under one of the desks and faced the back wall.

"Why would anyone do that!?"

"I don't know Eve…" Jean approached Mr. Dawsons' desk and knelt down next to the pool of blood and touched it. "It's warm, this happened recently."

"Call the police!" Eve screamed.

"Y-Yeah, that's a good idea Eve." Jean stood up and stared at the black board.

It was a grotesque site, something you saw in one of those graphic horror movies. Jean walked over to Eve and helped her to her feet and led her out of the room. Jean turned back with tears running down her cheeks; she gazed at Mr. Dawsons' skinned body hanging from the black board the globs of blood dripping from the body into the huge pool under his feet. The way he was hung, it was like he was crucified. They left the room with tears in their eyes and hugging each other for some sort of comfort.

"I knew this was going to be one of those days." Jean thought.


	3. Hell has come

It was carved into her mind like a scar now, it wasn't going to go away. No matter what she did it would always be there. Even when she blinked there it was the face less, bloody figure. Nailed in place to the board, never moving, never changing, just hanging there like a red shadow.

"Tell us again what happened Jean."

Jean looked up from the metal table, the room was bare except for the table and chairs in the center; those, and the magic mirror on one side of the room. They were watching her, taking notes or doing whatever it is police do behind there. Maybe they were eating donuts and drinking coffee.

"I told you, I went to school with my friend Eve and when we walked into the room we found Mr. Dawsons' body hanging from the board." Jean dug her nails into her knees.

"What were you doing at school in the first place?" The officer asked, "Didn't you know about the delay?"

"They must have announced it after Eve and I left, I didn't want to be late again so I left early." Jean stated uprooting her nails from her legs.

The officer let out a sigh and left the room. Jean knew where he was going, he was going into the other room to discuss what was going to happen to her. What would happen to her? Would she go to prison? Or would she end up in some asylum? It didn't really matter at this point. Jean picked up the Styrofoam cup of water in front of her and sipped at it. 

"Urp…" Jean covered her mouth and ran to the corner where the garbage can was and vomited.

Jean hauled herself to her feet and wiped her mouth, she hadn't been able to keep anything down at all since the incident. Even water came back up. It was obvious she was a mess, but she was more worried about Eve; she had reacted more severely than Jean had when they found the body. Jean returned to her chair at the table and cupped her face in her hands and began to cry.

"What's going on here? Why is this happening?"

Jeans' mind swirled with these questions and more, it was like somebody shoved her head into a blender and turned it on. She couldn't tell what she was doing anymore, it was all becoming a blur. She heard the scrap of the metal door on the tile floor and footsteps.

"Jean?" The officer asked.

"Yes?" Jean brushed away her tears with her sleeve.

"You can go home now, we have all the information we need."

"Yes sir," Jean stood up obediently to leave, "What about Eve?"

"She's waiting for you in the lobby, she wanted to walk home with you I guess."

Jean walked past the officer in the doorway and into the dim lights of the hall, yet Jean turned back and looked into the room. She had a feeling like she'd be in a place like that again soon.

Jean walked down the hall and pushed open the doors that lead into the lobby, Eve was sitting in one of the chairs sobbing quietly to her self. Jean quietly approached her and took the seat next to her. Eve looked up at Jean with very sad eyes, they didn't have their normal sparkle in them… they were empty.

"Jean…" Eve couldn't finish her sentence before she started crying again.

"It's okay Eve," Jean hugged her friend, "It'll be alright."

"I hope your right." Eve sobbed loudly into Jeans' shoulder.

They left the station and stepped out into the snowy cold. Jean stared into the sky, gray, nothing but gray skies as far as the eye could see. What now? Should they go home? No, Jean didn't feel like walking it. Instead she guided Eve, who was clinging to her like a child clings to its mother, toward the hospital. It was a short walk, but it seemed to go even faster now, Jeans' mind was racing at incredible speeds at that moment. Before she knew it they were at the front doors.

"Come on Eve." Jean said soothingly. 

Eve just nodded. The doors were fairly easy to open and they both approached the front desk.

"Hi Mary," Jean said weakly, "Is my mom available?"

"Sure Jean, I'll get her for you." Mary smiled and clicked the intercom, "Lisa to the front desk, Lisa front desk."

"Thanks Mary." Jean gave her a weak smiled and helped Eve over to some seats.

The hospital was nice and warm, unlike the police station that was colder than it should be. At least the hospital didn't reek of stale donuts and old coffee. It only took Jeans' mom a few minutes to get down the front desk.

"What's up Mary?" Lisa asked leaning over the counter.

"Your daughter's here for something." Mary pointed across the lobby to the chairs with Eve and Jean.

Lisa walked over and took the seat next to Jean.

"Any reason you're here Jean?" Lisa asked rubbing Jeans' head.

"Yeah… we didn't feel like walking home and I was wondering if we could use some beds for a nap… if there were any available that is." Jean whispered.

"Of course there are. Is there…a reason to all of this?" Lisa asked putting her arm around Jean.

"I… I guess…" Jean trailed off.

"May I hear it?" 

"S-sure…" 

Jean proceeded to tell her mom what had happened that morning after they had left for school. With each sentence Lisas' mouth opened more and more in horror and disbelief. When Jean had finished there was dead silence. After a minute, Lisa helped Jean and Eve up; not a word was exchanged between any of them. Lisa led them toward the staff room, there were some beds in there, and not many nurses and doctors were on hand right now so they could have a long, undisturbed sleep. Once Jean and Eve were tucked into the beds Lisa flicked off the light and closed the door.

"Eve… you feeling better?" Jean whispered.

"A… a little…" Eve was still crying.

"Just try to get a good nap in."

"I-I'll try Jean." Eve wrapped the blanket around her even tighter.

Jean stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. Not really thinking, not trying to fall asleep either. She was just staring into nothing. She finally rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep now. She could her a low rumbling coming from Eves' bed.

"Must be snoring." Jean thought to herself and cracked a small grin.

Slowly, Eves' snoring became less and less audible as Jean drifted off to sleep. The visions of the day came flashing back to her. The snow, the cold, the blood, the body, the tears, the pain. Jean could feel her mind being torn apart by all of these images and feelings, having to relive them again was just too horrible for anyone to bear. Jean felt like she was running down a dark hall filled with these morbid images, and she had to keep going forward, something was keeping her from going back. Just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped and Jean was thrust into a pitch-black room.

"Where am I?" Jean thought.

Even though it was totally dark, she could just tell that is was a room; not a wide-open space something just told her. Jean took a step but was frozen with fear when a giant claw came swinging out of the darkness. She barely had enough time to fall to the floor and avoid the death strike. Suddenly a face came into view, it wasn't a human face but rather a dog face… a dog face that had been skinned. Jean screamed in horror as the dog head revealed it's teeth and bit her body in half.

"AAAAH!" Jean screamed at the top of her lungs as she fell to the floor. "A dream… just a dream." She wiped the sweat from her face and struggled to her feet. "W-w-what the hell is this!?"

Jean was no longer in the hospital staff room, instead the floor was metal grated and the walls were stone, covered in dirt and blood. This was worse than her dream, this was much worse.

"Eve? Where are you Eve!?" Jean screamed out in panic for her friend.

She ran over to Eves' bed and stared at the huge bloodstain growing on the white sheet. With a trembling hand Jean removed the sheet from the mattress. A huge pool of blood was on the bed, but no Eve. Fearing for Eve, Jean searched the room more, tearing off every sheet in the room and checking under every bed.

"Where could she be? I need to find her…" Jeans' eyes fluttered around the room, looking for a place that she could have missed. "Maybe she left."

Jean ran for the door and grabbed the knob. Another icy feeling grabbed her chest, the same feeling she had felt in the school. Fearing the worst Jean released her grip from the knob and backed away from the door. Something dripped onto her hand from the ceiling. Water perhaps? No… it was warm and red. Blood. Jeans' gaze went up too the ceiling, when she saw where the blood had come from she fell to the floor and burst into tears. 

"NO, NO, NO!! God damn it! Why Eve!? Why did this happen to her?!" 

Jean sobbed loudly into her arms, trying to get yet another horrible picture out of her mind. First Mr. Dawson, now Eve. How could she go on like this? It was becoming clear what she had to do… she had to find a way out and survive this nightmare. Jean stood up, tears still pouring down her face as she approached the door.

"I will survive… I won't die," Jean said, "What was that?"

A low creaking sound caught her attention. It was coming from the ceiling, Jean didn't want to look up but she didn't want anymore surprises. She looked towards Eves' body and stared at it for a moment. What was that noise? Jean knew what it was when Eves' body came crashing down on top of her. The nails that were holding up Eves' body had given out. Jean let out a blood-curdling scream and pushed Eves' body off of her and ran for the door. As she opened it she was faced with her new challenge… surviving Silent Hill. Jean wiped the blood from her face and stepped cautiously into the darkness.


	4. Battle of Blood and Tears

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jean paused and stared at the floor, silence fell between the two of them. Biting her lip, she drew blood and it flowed freely to the floor in small drops. Dr. Ashcroft quickly looked through her pockets for something to wipe the blood away with.

"Don't worry," Jean whispered, "I've had worse. It's nothing serious."

"Still…" Ashcroft paused herself and stared out the window.

"Hmm? Don't like blood that much?" Jean said with a twisted sort of grin on her face.

"Umm… not really, makes me kind of queasy." Ashcroft pushed her glasses further up her nose.

"But you're a Doctor."

"I'm a psychologist. I don't normally deal with blood." Ashcroft shot Jean a cold sort of glare.

"Hmph." Jean crossed her legs on the bed and stuck out her tongue revealing how blood stained it was from that small cut.

Turning her head away from Jean, Ashcroft spoke, "Please continue, I'm interested in the rest of your story."

Jean scratched at her cheek, once again looking for the words that would fit the scenario.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The darkness was like a cloak, a hot, heavy, ominous cloak. A cloak that hid everything from view and made the air thick and disgusting. Jean inched her way down the hall, her feet making a grainy, scratching sound as they slid across the floor. With each step her heart played yet another note in its horrible symphony. Jean pressed her back up against the wall when she reached the corner and peered around. Everything looked so different now, it was hard to tell where she was; but it looked like the hall that led to the lobby. Taking in a deep breath Jean thought one thing to herself.

"Just go for it." As soon as the thought ended she bolted for the wooden double doors at the end of the hall.

"NO! God, open up!" Jean shook the doors violently trying to get out, but it was all in vein. 

Stepping back from the door Jean thought for a moment, and out of anger and frustration kicked the door. She faced the hall and leaned against the doors sliding down to the floor. Struggling to catch her breath Jean wiped sweat from her forehead and brought her knees up to her chest.

"What am I going to do?" She mumbled, "How am I going to get out of here?"

A sound caught her attention at the end of the hall. She picked her head up and strained to see what had made the noise. By the dim light that came in threw the window she could only make out a dark figure. Jean climbed to her feet, as she did the figure held something in its hand and shook it. The object made a small metallic sound.

"A KEY!" Jean shouted.

Jean sprinted down the hall in mad desperation for that life saving key.

"Coom et ut." The figure spoke as it disappeared in the darkness.

Reaching the end of the hall Jean looked around for the figure. Gone. Like a specter into the night. Frantically searching for him and the key Jeans gaze fell on the wall.

"What the…"

A giant "4" was painted on the wall, freshly painted on actually. Jean touched the dripping 4.

"It's warm," She rubbed her fingers together, "Wait… is this?" 

The hall suddenly wobbled, and Jean started sweating at a rapid pace. The hall broke into a spin and Jean struggled to keep her balance, placing her hand on the wall. It took a few moments for her to get herself back together.

"That bastard! I'm going to get him!" Jean punched the wall and the plaster crumbled.

Looking around again, she spotted the elevator. It was the only way out of the hall, so this is where he had to have gone. Pressing the call button the elevator dropped down to the first floor and Jean walked in. She pressed the button for the 2nd floor and waited for the doors to open again. The rusty doors slid open to reveal a disheveled waiting room. Chairs were broken and bent, the table had been tossed against the wall. Jean walked into the room and approached the door. Locked.

"Damn it." Jean kicked the door and headed back for the elevator.

This time she pushed the 3rd floor button. The waiting room here wasn't that much different from the one of the 2nd floor. This door was locked as well. Jean kicked this door as well; her anger was almost like a flaming aura consuming her body and soul. Preparing to go back to the main floor Jean noticed something strange.

"4th floor? This hospital doesn't have four floors."

Jean pressed the button and elevator glided up yet another floor. When the door slid open the button cracked and shattered. Looking at the glass shards on the floor Jean pressed on. Saving herself some time and venting frustration, Jean kicked the door before she even tried the knob. The doors flew off their rusty, broken hinges and clattered to the floor. Not giving another thought to what had just happened she walked down the hall looking for the figure.

"Where are you!? I'm going to rip your goddamn throat out for what you did to Eve! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" Jean punched the wall causing it to crack and crumble under the force of the blow.

Threw a thin mist, Jean could make out the figure holding something else in its hand. Breaking into a full run she closed the gap between the two of them, but suddenly stopped as she realized what the figure was holding.

"You… You sick bastard!" Tears began to run down her face, "This is it! Right here right now!" Jean took on a fighting stance.

The figure grinned and raised Eves skin over its head, blood dripping onto the floor. Opening its jaws, Jean watched in horror as the beast consumed the skin of her friend. Not caring about survival at this point Jean attacked. The beast struggling under the powerful blows of the girl. Using one of the most devastating kicks she knew, Jean delivered a flying spin kick. The force of the blow was enough to knock the figure through a door.

"GET UP! C'MON! COME AND GET ME!"

Rising off the floor the beast spread its wings, making it look bigger than before.

"Av urelf om Hell…" The beast approached Jean.

Her fury behind the bursting point Jean renewed her attack. She had a feeling she could do it, her blood was filled with adrenaline and her fury fueled the fire even more. Coming in close to deliver a massive punch the beast backhanded Jean into a wall. Jeans' shoulder hit the wall with much force and she could hear her shoulder pop, as it became dislocated.

"Damn it… only my left arm though." Jean grinned and held her shoulder.

Not giving up Jean lunged once again. The beast attempted another devastating backhand, but Jean was smaller and more agile than it; she ducked under the attack with ease and smashed its rib cage with a punch. Staggering back the beast let out a roar of pain as some of its ribs jutted out from the skin.

"Clean shot…"

Closing in for a final blow Jean gave the beast a flying sidekick, she neglected the fact a window was right behind the beast though. The blow sent it threw the window along with Jean. The tree outside didn't help much as the two fell to the ground below. The sounds of breaking tree limbs, bones, and glass filled the air as Jean landed on top of the beast and rolled off to the side. Falling onto her back Jean had a picture of a flawless night and for a moment she forgot everything and was lost in the beauty.

"So… beautiful… tranquil…" Jean whispered with blood dripping from the side of her mouth, "Guess I don't need that key anymore though…" Jean grinned and fell unconscious.


	5. Adriel

Peaceful, tranquil, serene… everything Silent Hill was not. The sun beat down on Jean and warmed her with its waves of warmth, and the gentle breeze kept her from becoming too hot. It was perfect here; Jean stretched and leaned up against a tree.

"This is paradise." Jean smiled and closed her eyes as she spoke those words.

Nothing could go wrong here, nothing at all. It was as if this place was intended for her and her alone; nothing else could intrude on her sanctuary. 

"Having fun my dear?"

"Of course I am," Jean opened her right eye, "Who are you anyway?"

A tall figure loomed on her right side, whoever it was, was male. But she couldn't make out his face; his cloak covered him except for his mouth. He had very soft looking lips Jean thought, probably cute looking too.

"I am Adriel." The cloaked man said.

"Adriel, huh? Would you mind moving? You're in my sun."

"It is not your time to be here Jean." Adriel held out his hand.

"Not my time?" Jean stood up, "Are you one of those hallucinations that tries to convince me I'm dead!?"

"Well… in a manner of speaking, yes." Adriel smirked oddly at her.

Jean stared blankly at him, attempting to make heads or tails of what was going on here. Could she really be dead? Or was this just some sick joke that beast had conjured up?

"No Jean, no joke." 

"How… how did you? I mean…umm…err…" Jean looked on in awe.

Laughing slightly in amusement Adriel circled around Jean.

"You are a feisty one… not going to be easy with you." 

"What are you babbling about?" Jean grew impatient with the trickster.

"I'm simply babbling the truth, and the truth is you're going to be a fun one to catch."

"Catch? You trying to hunt me!?" Jean took and angry step toward him, but Adriel stood his ground.

"I hunt everything Jean," Adriel raised his hand and snapped his finger, "You'll see what I mean soon enough."

Jean tried to speak but the scenery swirled and blurred together. What was once there was now lost, covered by a cold darkness. Desperately searching for some place to go Jean collapsed under a sudden, invisible weight.

*********************

Her head throbbed, and her arm burned. It was cool out and the only sound was the wind rustling a tree. Slowly opening her eyes Jean realized she was under the tree in the hospital courtyard. The sky beyond was endless, a calm, still beauty.

"So nice," Jean turned her head to the side, "Damn… my arm."

Jean reached her right arm over and painfully popped her left arm back into place. It did pay to have a nurse in the family. Searching the ground around her, Jean realized that the beast was gone, the only trace was the imprint in the ground it made. Her eyes full of fear, Jean went to sit up.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" Jean collapsed in agony as blood spewed from the wound.

A large shard of glass had fallen from the window impaling Jean to the ground right threw her torso. Jean screamed again as she bled to death.

*********************

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Jean sat up as quickly as she could, eyes full of tears and sweat pouring from her body.

Looking at her torso she quickly realized it was just a dream; a horrible dream. Rubbing her stomach where the glass shard should have been reassured her she was quite alive. Pain shooting threw her body, Jean found out her arm was still dislocated and gently popped it into place. 

"Damn… that hurt." She rose to her feet and surveyed her surroundings.

The beast was definitely gone, the impact crater in the ground evidence that it was real. Something glistened in the pale light, the key for the hospital was laying in the ground. Jean bent down and picked it up and placed it in her pants pocket. Her attention went toward the window she had fallen from.

"What?" Jean stared in awe, "How did that happen?"

The broken window was still there, but the rest of the mysterious 4th floor wasn't. A curtain blew threw the broken glass, but that was the only thing there; floating ominously over the rest of the hospital. The town seemed to have shifted back to normal, if you could define normal in this town.

"I better leave…" Jean turned toward the heavy metal gates of the hospital.

Upon reaching them she found that they were locked. Instead of kicking them, she removed the key from her pocket and unlocked the gates and they swung open with ease. Jean placed the key back into her pocket and stepped out onto the street.

"I guess I should look for a way out of town, but where to?" Jean brushed her hair back.

The roads were completely desolate; trudging toward the police station again not a sound was generated except for Jeans' footsteps. The road seemed longer than ever before, not being able to see where you were supposed to go was one of the worst things in this town. It seemed like and hour but it had been five minutes before she reached the police station doors. Stepping into the empty lobby Jean searched the room for any sign of hostility. Nothing from what she could see. She turned her head to the sidewall where the chairs were.

"I'll miss you…" Jean began to cry as her memories of Eve came back to her.

Walking over to the chair where Eve had sat that very day, Jean sat down and fell asleep. Hoping for some sort of comforting dream.


	6. Darkness of the Soul

Darkness in darkness, that's what sleep had become. You could hide from darkness in the light, and light in the darkness; but not darkness within darkness. Jean was getting used to this by now, seeing all of those horrible images in her head. But they were still unsettling and seemed to get more real with each passing minute.

"Eve…" Jean whispered in her sleep.

He ran a hand threw Jeans hair as she slept. His touch soft enough as not to disturb her nightmares. He examined her body and saw the wounds that covered her and pulled a medical pack from his bag and began dressing the wounds.

"Hmm…" Jean opened her eyes and stared at the new figure, "AH!"

"WOAH!" The figure fell to the ground in shock.

"Who are you and what are you doing!?" Jean stood up and shouted.

Climbing to his feet the figure held out his hand, "I'm Leonard, but everyone calls me Leon."

Reluctantly, Jean took his hand and shook it as she stared at him. He was pretty tall, about 6'1", short black hair, deep brown eyes, and a body she would die for. Realizing she had stared at him a little to long, Jean blushed and turned her face away from Leon.

"Umm… I'm Jean."

"Nice to meet you Jean," Leon smiled at her, "Mind if I finish patching you up?"

"Oh… no, that would be great."

Jean sat back down and rolled up her shirtsleeve so he would have an easier time at cleaning and bandaging the wounds. This just reassured her that she was alive after all that had happened. She could feel the sting of the antiseptic and his hands on her skin.

"God…" Jean thought to herself, "He is so cute! Why did I have to meet him now?"

Leon stood up, "All set Jean."

Blushing, Jean rubbed her arm, "Feels great. Thank you."

"Heh heh, no problem."

"Umm…" She looked down at the ground, "How did you… survive this place?"

"Huh?" Leon looked confused, "Survive what? There's nothing out here. And all the roads are blocked off by some major chasms."

Shocked, Jean turned toward Leon and grabbed his arms, "You didn't see them!? How could you miss all of those horrible things?!" 

Leon opened his mouth to say something but he was fixated on Jean's eyes, they had taken on a crimson tint. It was like the fires of Hell itself were burning in them.

"I… I just…" He trailed off.

"Tell me!" She dug her nails into his arm.

"I don't know anything!" He tore from her grip, "I only remember my name! I got hit on the head with a board before all of this, and don't know what's going on!"

Jean stared at him inquisitively, "How do you know you got hit in the head with a board?"

"I woke up in what I'm assuming is my house with a pile of debris next to me, and one of the boards had a blood smear on it." He pushed back his hair to show Jean the deep gash on his head.

"I… I'm sorry. I've been paranoid lately with everything," She moved closer to Leon as she started to cry, "I can't… can't take this! I've lost everyone! Hold me!"

She fell into his arms and sobbed loudly into his shirt. Thrown off guard by this Leon hesitantly hugged her. They were both lost in this town, no, in Hell. He didn't know what to do or how to survive, but she did. And she was lost emotionally, and he wasn't. They would compliment one another, balance each other out, become one in order to live. Leon was now caught up the emotional outpouring, he rested his head on Jeans shoulder and began to cry himself. After several minutes of crying, Jean pushed herself from Leon and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.

"It's time to go."

"Where? Everything's blocked off."

"We'll find a way." Jean punched her open palm.

Once again she stepped into the darkness, but this time not alone. She had an ally in her fight. Looking to her right she saw the bridge that led back into the main part of the town.

"That looks like a good place to start." Jean said walking in that direction.

Leon followed, close behind her. Something caught her eye up ahead. Something didn't seem right.

Leon squinted, "Can you see something Jean?"

Taking in a deep breath Jean coughed and spit on the ground, "I can taste it."

"Huh?" Leon looked at her in awe.

A shriek pierced the darkness as a winged creature soared out of the darkness and swatted at Jeans' head.

"No good!" She screamed, "The other way!"

They sprinted down the road, the creature still following them. They reached a crossroads and stopped yet again.

Jean bit her lip, "Damn it!"

"What is it Jean?" Leon struggling for breath.

"There up here too! Back!"

"Back where!?" Leon looked panicked, "Their everywhere!"

"Back to the hospital! It's the only way!"

Turning on their heels they rushed back toward the hospital, a cool breeze blowing in their faces. Turning down the road that led to the hospital, Jean felt slight relief. She could feel that there was nothing up ahead that posed any immediate danger to them. They continued down the road, the shrieks of the creatures still audible behind them. Jean cut suddenly in front of Leon and opened the hospital gates. When Leon had gotten into the courtyard, she closed the gates and locked them with the hospital key.

"Not done yet," Jean choked out, "Inside!"

Leon, who was sitting on the ground catching his breath, stood up and stumbled toward the door. Once they were both safely inside Jean locked the door with the key.

"What the hell were those things, Jean?"

"Those are the things I was telling you about."

"So, you've seen them before?" 

Jean paused for a moment, "Well… not them."

Leon stared at her for a moment, her eyes had a crimson tint to them again; only brighter than before. "Then what?"

"I saw the Demon."

Leon was confused more than ever now, "What Demon?"

"The head Demon. The reason the town is like this," Jean sat down in one of the waiting room chairs, "If you don't mind, I'm feeling really tired. I'm going to sleep for a while."

"But, you just woke up."

"I know, I'm just need some more sleep." Jean closed her eyes and almost instantly fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hello Jean." Adriel took her hand and kissed it.

Jean looked coldly at her hand, "What do you want?"

Adriel walked around her in his cool fashion like he did before and leaned up against one of the trees, "Just to chat."

Sitting down on the ground Jean crossed her legs and stared at him, "You never want to do just that."

"True," He extended his finger out and a butterfly rested on it, "You know me well Jean."

"Didn't take me long to figure you out." Jean spit on the ground.

"Something wrong dear?" Adriel let the butterfly go, "Not feeling good?"

"Can't get this taste out of my mouth."

Adriel crouched next to Jean and placed his head on her shoulder, "Want to know what that taste is?" He sniffed at the air, "Such a delicious smell."

Jean turned around, "It's disgusting, that's what it is."

He caressed her cheek with his hand, "You'll get used to it I'm sure." He moved his hooded face toward her and kissed her.

She was shocked. Why was he doing this? He was getting stranger with every meeting of them.

She pushed him away from her breaking the odd kiss, "Why did you do that!?"

"I love that taste you see. And it's even better when it comes from something that is still alive."

Jean rose to her feet, "What is it!? Tell me!"

"Jean," Adriel seemed to float as he stood, "You will find out everything very soon."

She grabbed his robe, "You will tell me now!"

"Have you seen yourself lately? In the mirror I mean."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Adriel held out a mirror, "Take a good look."

Jean snorted at him as she let go of the robe and snatched the mirror form him. He held it up and stared into it. She could hardly believe what she looked like. Did Leon see any of this?

"What's wrong with my eyes!? Why are they red? Their blood red!" She threw the mirror to the ground and watched it shatter and the glass fly into the air. 

"Since you're so insistent on things, I guess I will tell you _some_ things."

Jean fell to her knees and cried. She had been doing this a lot lately, but she had gotten used to it by now.

"Every person has a soul you see, and that soul is reflected in every persons eyes. Your soul has been tainted; taken on a darkness if you will. Since the town is comprised of nothing but darkness now it's only natural for you to start absorbing that darkness into your body and soul."

Jean could hardly believe that this was happening to her, the tears just kept pouring out. "Will I ever be normal again? Will I ever be pure?"

"That," Adriel turned his back to her, "I will not answer. It's time for you to go back."

"No! I don't want to turn into one of those things! Don't do it!"

Adriel snapped his fingers and the garden swirled once again into total darkness. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jean awoke suddenly, her clothes drenched in sweat. She wiped her face and looked for Leon. But how could he face him now? She was turning into something horrible, and she didn't know what. Standing up she started her search for Leon, but her movements were slow, because she was ashamed of herself now. 

"Leon?" Jeans' voice was weak and timid, "Where are you?"

"ARGH!"

"NO! Not Leon too!" She didn't care anymore, she rushed toward the scream.

She opened the hall door and made her way toward the staff room, back to the beginning of everything. Jean could feel the adrenaline pulsing through her body, and something else. She knew it had to be the darkness within her.

Jean kicked the door off its hinges and stepped into the room, "LEON!"

"J-Jean… get… aw-away!" The Demons massive claw was wrapped around Leons' body.

"NO! It stops now!" Jean charged at the beast and smashed into its arm.

Roaring in pain, it flung Leon into the wall, there was a loud series of cracks as his fell to the floor in a heap.

"NO! You won't take him away from me."

The Demon glared at her, "Try it."

"You… you can talk!?" Jean stepped back.

"My power has returned, I am capable of more than just speech." It charged at her and slashed at her.

Jean remembered this trick before and fell to the floor to dodge, when the claw had passed her she pushed off the ground and crushed its elbow. It roared out in pain as it held it's broken limb.

"You must die so we may survive." Jean raised her fists and saw a faint red aura start to form.

The Demon stared at her and laughed, "HAHA! Look at you girl, you've absorbed my dark power. You can save nobody know. Your touch will be like flames upon others skin and you will rot inside your own body!"

"I will live! I will become pure!"

"Hmph, maybe some other time." The Demon disappeared in a flash of fire and the room was once again dark.

"Leon!" Jean hurried toward his side.

"Jean, *cough*, sorry about this."

"Don't be sorry Leon," She held his head in her hands, "I should be sorry for not being awake before this happened."

"Let's just say it's this damn towns fault." He weakly raised his hand and caressed her cheek.

She held his hand there and cried again, "Leon," She bent down and kissed him. She could fell his life flicker out, absorbed by the town.

Standing up, she wiped the tears from her eyes and spit at the ground. The taste had returned, worse than before. She froze in fear when she realized what the taste was. It was the taste of death and decay. She could taste the death in this town. That's why she could sense those monsters. And the chilling feelings she had before, they were just the beginnings of all of this. She was different now. Was she better than the Demon? Or was she simply becoming its Hell Spawn? 


	7. Death

Jean picked up Leons limp body and carried it over to one of the beds. Not the best place to bury somebody, but it would have to do considering the situation. Laying him on the bed was the hardest thing she had to do so far, next to leaving Eves body behind. This wasn't right. Things weren't meant to be this way. Breaking down again, Jean sobbed loudly into Leons chest as she knelt next to him.

"Why? Why is everything so screwed up here? I just want to leave it all behind and forget it."

_You can Jean._

"Adriel? Is that you?" She wiped her face with her arm.

Stepping out from a shadow in the corner, Adriel revealed himself. He had an odd grin on his face, like he had just eaten the best meal of his life. He strolled over to her side and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You can end it Jean," His voice soft in her ear, "You can end it all. I can give you paradise."

Staring at Leons body, fresh tears fell again. She was sick of crying, but couldn't stop it. At least she knew she still had emotions. But how long would she have them? 

"What are you suggesting?" Her voice weak.

Pulling out a metal object from his sleeve Adriel held it in front of her, "I think you know what I'm suggesting."

The scalpel glinted as his hand moved in front of her. It looked brand new never tainted by the town. Jean stared at the object like it was something new to her. The thought had never crossed her mind, she just wanted to live another day, to be normal again. But it was apparent it wasn't going to happen.

Jean turned away, "I can't."

"Yes you can Jean." Adriel placed the knife in her hand, "This will all go away Jean."

"But…"

"Jean, look at your hand."

Turning slowly toward her right hand she stared at what was happening. Her hand, which was resting on Leons arm, was burning the skin. The scent of burning flesh filled the air as smoke rose from the burn. She turned back to Adriel staring in disbelief.

"Why is this happening? Is that Demon right? I am really turning into something horrible?"

"It was right Jean," He placed his hand on hers, "You are no longer pure." He took her hand and placed it on her left hand, she was now grasping the knife.

"No…"

"Jean… please."

She couldn't do anything more. Everyone was dead. She had nothing left, no one to love. Taking the knife in her right hand she held out her wrist.

"Adriel…"

"Jean," He kissed her cheek.

"I know who you are," A small grin formed on her face, "You're an angel, aren't you?"

Pausing a second he whispered into her ear again, "I knew you were smart."

"You're the Angel of Death. I remember seeing your name in the bible once."

"Very smart. That's why I like you," He stepped in front of her and helped her to her feet, "Not many people find out until they're already dead."

She chuckled to herself, "You don't hide it very well though."

"I try."

Holding her wrist out Jean looked at Adriel, "Let me see your face first."

Grasping the sides of his hood he pulled it down to his shoulders. His hair was silvery and seemed to shine on its own. His eyes were a deep blue, like the ocean. His skin was paler than normal but that's one of the things that drew her to him.

"Thank you…"

Jean drove the scalpel into her skin, the pain shooting through her body as she tore the vein. Blood oozed from the wound in thick globs as it fell to the floor. She fell to her knees holding her wrist, watching herself bleed out… watching herself die.

"Adriel… Will I really have paradise?"

"Yes Jean. I'll see to it."

"That's good." Tears fell down her face.

The room wobbled a bit at first, then it started to spin. She could feel the blood rushing out of her body. Her hand twitched and became cold as she fell into the pool of blood on the floor. There was nothing left here. She would just have to hope Adriel kept his word. The room became fuzzy, everything was fuzzy. She looked up at Adriel and stared at him for a moment. Then everything faded from her view.

__

Authors note: No, this is not the end. The ending will not be so simple, not easy. The true ending will be more twisted. I just needed to get some things off my chest and this seemed to fit my mood almost perfectly. Since this topic is sensitive to me. Please keep an eye out for more chapters.


	8. Rebirth

__

Recently I've taken a look back at my writing files. When I opened my 'Darkness of the Soul' files I remembered how much I enjoyed writing and how much I wanted to go back to it. But as I looked back at the reviews I realized that I had lost the essence of this story over time. This was based on raw human fear and paranoia at one point, but I fell into the Hollywood gore and supernatural horrorfest. I'm ready to reclaim its original spirit. I owe this all to Boogiepop Phantom.

The world was cold again, cold and uncaring. An icy grip on your heart that tried to twist and pull it from your chest. Yet you would always live on when this happened. The visions were gone, the room was gone, the world was gone, and the pain was gone. It should have ended there, but the heart continued to beat on. An unrelenting beat that wouldn't let the body die, even though the soul was ready to. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A surge of pain rushed through Jeans' body and with an earth-shattering scream, she was once again awake. Her vision was blurry and her body burned at the sudden pain within in. Looking around she blinked several times to focus in on the room she was in. The room, where did it go? She was no longer in the room but in the lobby of the Hospital. Remembering what she had done she grabbed her wrist and looked at it. No cut, no blood, and no scar. Had it been some kind of twisted vision that the demon had conjured up in her mind? Perhaps, but then again this town had a strange way of messing with people's minds so it could have been a horrible illusion.

_'Why are you here Jean? You should be in Paradise.'_

Blinking again, Jean managed to focus in on a spot down the hall. Odd, the hall had a mist in it but she was sure the voice was coming from there.

"Adriel?" She stood and rubbed her chest; it still felt like somebody was trying to rip her heart out from the inside.

_'Yes Jean. I am here, but you should not.'_

The taste of blood was thick in her mouth as she licked her lips, barely able to make out the faintest outline of Adriel, "You… Adriel…"

The mist seemed to grow denser; blocking out any sign of Adriel as his voice became a haunting echo in the hospital.

Mustering up her courage she finally spoke to the Angel, "You lied to me!"

Silence.

"You lied to me Adriel. You said I would have paradise but there was nothing but darkness and cold."

Jeans' voice was once again met with silence.

"Aren't Angels supposed to protect people? No, you'll probably say that you were protecting me by having me kill myself. That doesn't make sense either since suicide is considered a sin, right?"

Silence echoed in her ears yet a third time. It was maddening. Then, like a bolt of lightning striking metal, she realized what was going on this entire time. Adriel… the Demon. They were the same; the same demented being that would be willing to say it was one of the purest entities ever created.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Ashcroft stared at Jean like she was completely out of her mind. She looked at her clipboard again in silence to see if this kind of psychotic and paranoid behavior had been noted before.

With a heavy sigh, Jean continued on with her tale. Knowing quite well that she was most likely sealing herself in this room for the rest of her life with every word she spoke to the Doctor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eyes opened wide in pain and fear; Jean struggled for breath as she was lifted off the floor. Her legs thrashing as she felt a massive hand holding her neck. Looking down she saw the twisted smile on the Demons face as it started squeezing the life out of her. Its maw covered in a fresh sheen of blood while its breath reeked like thousands of corpses left in the summer heat.

_'You have seen through my trick little girl. That impresses me.'_

Jean could only answer with a cough and a wheeze as she drew in a breath before the hand tightened around her neck again.

_'So here we are again little girl. In the real world, and I use the term loosely.'_

She wanted to speak, wanted to curse at the creature but she couldn't. His grip was tight and unrelenting. In a futile attempt to escape she thrashed her legs until she, by some form of blind luck, landed a solid blow on the beast. It obviously felt the blow as it grunted in surprise and took a step back but it did not release her. It hurt so much now, her throat was near the breaking point and her chest felt like it was going to explode from asphyxiation. 

_'Your friend was delicious little girl. I will enjoy devouring your skin as well.'_

Coughing and sputtering, Jean tried to pry the hand open that was holding her off the ground. But for once, she stared the Demon right in the eye; well eye socket. Her mind raced with a thousand thoughts at once as she tried to sort out what the creature had just said and then it clicked, like a train track switching over. She had chased the Demon up to the second floor; no it was the third floor of the hospital. And when she looked down the hall she saw this… thing, this Demon consuming Eves' skin like it was some kind of demonic morsel. Yes, that was it. Everything after that had been some twisted mind fuck. She was in the creatures' grip for hour's maybe. Or it could have only been minutes or even seconds, she didn't know how long she had been there but that didn't matter right now.

"B-Bas…tard." Jean coughed after forcing the word.

The Demon sneered at her as a slimy, decaying tongue coiled out of its mouth and licked its jaw. It seemed to enjoy the taunt. Closing her eyes and taking one last breath, Jean went limp.

_'That's a good little girl.'_

The creatures tongue gently licked over Jeans' cheek leaving a putrid saliva trail behind it. The Demon licked its jaw again as it lowered its face towards Jeans', very intent on consuming her now. Opening its' muzzle it brought the limp girl closer to it before stopping. It closed its muzzle and stared at Jean for a few seconds before growling angrily at her. With a blurring motion the Demon threw her against a wall, causing her to gasp in pain before falling to the floor; the wind knocked out of her. 

_'Trying to play opossum little girl?'_

Holding her stomach and coughing uncontrollably Jean stared up as the beast lumbered towards her, obviously angry at her little stunt. Its claws stretched out towards her, each claw looking like rusted scythes while its muzzle drooled hungrily. 

"No!" Jean screamed in pure terror, her eyes wide and glazed over as she stared at the Demon.

Her chest burned with pain still from the lack of air while her back felt the same way from being thrown against a stone wall, making it hard to move when every muscle felt like it was attached to fishhooks and being pulled in every direction in a random order. Still, she managed to work through the pain and stumble away from the thing as its claws made a grab for her but grabbed air instead. Tears streamed down Jeans' face, but not because she was in unbearable pain. The air was very dry and stale in here, making her eyes burn like the rest of her body and blurring her vision. Blindly running down the hall her poor battered body connected with a metal door. The metal was coarse and rusted, smelling like it had been submerged in rotting meat for a few days but it cracked and gave way, letting her fall through a jagged hole in it. The metal groped at her body, gouging her body and tearing her shirt and pants before tumbling to the floor and sliding a few feet on nothing but dirt and glass. She screamed in pain, grabbing her shoulder as blood began to stain her shirt from a shard of glass that had lodged itself in her flesh. 

_'Little girl!'_ The beast reached a claw in through the door to grab at Jean. He was rewarded as he grabbed her foot and began dragging her back across the hospital room floor. His maw was open again, waiting for another feast of possibly the last living soul in Silent Hill. Eager to consume her body entirely unlike Eve. 

Jean couldn't see straight with her watering eyes but she thrashed against the beast and blindly connected her free foot against his canine nose. Howling in pain the beast released her for a moment, giving her enough time to stand and look around the room for an escape. 

It was a hospital room, just like all of the others in the screwed up place. This one had gurneys and wheelchairs piled up on all sides of the room. All covered in rust while the sheets on the gurneys where stained with old blood that had begun to turn a decaying and sickly brown. The air in here was hot and heavy, making it hard to breathe since every foul odor clung to Jeans' lungs and refused to let go. The only way out was through a window, a window that led out into the nightmarish streets of the town.

_'Come back little girl!'_

The beast had recovered from the blow and was pushing the door off its rusting hinges. Only a second to make a decision on this one. Biting the bullet, Jean ran for the window and jumped. Pushing off a gurney and sending it back at the beast she covered her face as the glass shattered around her arms. Some of the smaller shards cut into her as she fell.

"Oh hell…" Jean whispered to herself as she began to twist and spin on her way down from the way she pushed off the gurney. The fall was only a few feet to the second floor but it felt like an eternity, as time seemed to crawl for her. Expecting to here bones breaking against splintering tar and wood, Jean braced herself but met with the somewhat soft cushion of a hospital bed mattress. The wind was knocked out of her but at least the landing was softer than it was going to be.

"Ahh… damn it," She sat up and rubbed her back, feeling the warm liquid of blood again. Looking down she saw she landed on a rusty spring that had broken through the fabric.

"Great. If that thing doesn't get me, tetanus will."

A creaking sound was heard from below the mattress as it was shaken a bit and sagged. Jean gripped the bed as she looked up, seeing the beast sticking its head out the window and howling at her. This just wasn't her day. That thought crossed her mind as the roof gave away more before it finally buckled totally. Sending loud cracking sounds and splinters of wooden roofing material into the night air as she fell through. Covering her face from the falling debris, she curled up and was careful to avoid the spring on the mattress as she hit the second floor. Bouncing violently Jean was thrown a few feet onto the floor behind her, cracking her head on the wall. Letting out a loud groan, she felt the floor give again as she fell to the first floor and landed on a gurney this time. 

Her body felt like it was in acid now, that is what the burning pain felt like now. She prayed the fiery sensation would come back to her now instead of the sharp, stinging pains as the padding on the gurney did little to cushion the blow from the metal frame. The gurney toppled to the side, spilling Jean amongst the debris of the roof and second floor. That familiar creak was heard again as the floor began to sink inwards, right where Jean was lying. 

"Oh God… please don't let me…"

He voice was cut off as the floor did give away, despite her plea and she fell into an abyss of darkness as hospital shrapnel fell after her. Her landing was not a pleasant one as she landed on something and heard the disgusting crack and pop of bones breaking and dislocating. A final groan escaped her from her horrific fall as she looked up through the three holes she had created in this hospital of hell. Laying her head back she closed her eyes, letting herself pass out from the fall and into the darkness of this room.

__

Thank you all for reading this and putting up with my yearlong absence from writing fanfics. I will be writing more but at a slower pace to ensure my writing is up to my high level standards once again. I have at least one more chapter for this fic before I bring it too a close. Maybe two more chapters and an epilogue if I work things out right. Keep reading and please review my story or e-mail me.

-Kamui Asagi

P.S. Feel free to read my other fanfics as well. I'm hoping to get more feed back on my RE fanfic entitled 'Lab TS'. And try reading this fanfic while listening to the Heavy Metal 2000 soundtrack, it was my mood music when I was writing this. 


End file.
